15 - Through Ellis Island and Angel Island: The
Immigrant Experience
Lazarus's poem suggests that the United States was a land of opportunity for the world's
poor and downtrodden masses. By the 1880s, this had already been true for decades.
Great waves of immigration had washed over the country since at least the 1840s. Some
immigrants who chose to come to the United States were from Asia, Mexico, and
Canada, but the vast majority crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Europe. They entered the
country mainly through the port of New York City.
From the 1840s until the 1890s, most of these Europeans came from northern and
western Europe. Millions of Irish, British, Germans, and Scandinavians crossed the ocean
to become Americans. In the late 1800s, however, immigration from southern and eastern
Europe steadily increased. Italians, Greeks, Hungarians, Poles, and Russians began to
dominate the steamship passenger lists. For all of these immigrants, the reasons for
moving can be divided into push factors [push factor: a problem that causes people to
immigrate to another place] and pull factors [pull factor: an attraction that draws
immigrants to another place]. Push factors are problems that cause people to move,
whereas pull factors are attractions that draw them to another place.
Difficulties Push People from Europe
Population growth and hunger were two major push factors that caused Europeans to
emigrate, or leave their homeland. Much of Europe experienced rapid population growth
in the 1800s. This growth resulted in crowded cities, a lack of jobs, and food shortages.
Crop failures added to people's woes. Potato rot left many Irish starving in the 1840s. The
Irish potato famine led to a wave of Irish emigration to the United States.
In the late 1800s, many Jews in Europe faced persecution for their culture and beliefs.
This hostility was very strong in Russia. The first Russian pogrom, or organized massacre
of Jews, occurred in 1881. Attacks like this reflected a brutal anti-Semitism that caused
more than a million Jews to leave Russia for the United States.
Another push factor was scarcity of arable [arable: suitable for growing crops] land, or
land suitable for growing crops. In the 1800s, mechanization of agriculture led to the
growth of commercial farming on large tracts of land in Europe. In the process, common
lands, traditionally available to all, were combined and enclosed by fences. Many
peasants were suddenly thrown off the land and into poverty. Even families with large
estates faced land shortages. In parts of Europe, landholdings were divided among all
children at the death of their parents. After a few generations of such divisions, the
resulting plots were too small to support a family. A hunger for land drove many
Europeans across the Atlantic.
Some immigrants planned to go to the United States, make their fortune, and return to
their homelands. Others had no wish to go back. Many of those people emigrated because
of the fourth major push factor: religious persecution. Russian and Polish Jews, for
example, fled their villages to escape deadly attacks by people who abhorred their
religion. Lazarus wrote her Statue of Liberty poem with this group of immigrants in
mind. Lazarus had heard stories told by Jewish refugees from Russia. They described the
pogroms [pogroms: organized anti-Jewish attacks that forced many Jews to leave
Russia], or organized anti-Jewish attacks, that had forced them to leave their country.
Armenian immigrants, many of them Catholics, told similar stories about persecution and
massacres at the hands of Turks in the largely Muslim Ottoman Empire.
Opportunities Pull Europeans to the United States
Most European immigrants came to this country on steamships. The poorer ones crossed
the Atlantic in steerage—the open space below the main deck that once housed the
steering mechanism of sailing ships. Conditions there
were so cramped that many passengers spent most of
their time on deck.One of the great pull factors for
European immigrants was the idea of life in a free and
democratic society. They longed to live in a country
where they had the opportunity to achieve their
dreams. Less abstract, or more concrete, factors such
as natural resources and jobs also exerted a strong
pull. The United States had ample farmland, minerals,
and forests. Germans, Scandinavians, and eastern
Europeans brought their farming skills to the rolling
hills and plains of the Midwest. They introduced new
types of wheat and other grains that would help turn
this region into the country's breadbasket. European
immigrants also prospected for gold and silver. They
mined iron and coal. They chopped down forests and
sawed the trees into lumber. Booming industries offered jobs to unskilled workers, like
the Irish, Italian, Polish, and Hungarian peasants who poured into the cities in the late
1800s. These new immigrants also worked on the ever-expanding rail system, sometimes
replacing Irish and Chinese laborers. American railroad companies advertised throughout
Europe. They offered glowing descriptions of the Great Plains, hoping to sell land they
received as government grants.
An even greater lure, however, came in the form of personal communications from
friends and relatives who had already immigrated. Their letters back to the old country,
known as America letters [America letters: letters from immigrants in the United
States to friends and relatives in the old country, which spurred further
immigration], might be published in newspapers or read aloud in public places.
Sometimes the letters overstated the facts. Europeans came to think of the United States
as the "land of milk and honey" and a place where the "streets are paved with gold."
America letters helped persuade many people to immigrate to the United States.
Improvements in Transportation Make Immigration Easier
After the Civil War, most European immigrants crossed the Atlantic by steamship, a
techno-logical advance over sailing ships. What had once been a three-month voyage
now took just two weeks. Some passengers could afford cabins in the more comfortable
upper decks of the ship. But most had to settle for steerage [steerage: the open area
below a steamship's main deck, where most immigrants lived during the Atlantic
crossing], the open area below the main deck. In steerage, hundreds of strangers were
thrown together in huge rooms, where they slept in rough metal bunks. The rolling of the
ship often made them ill. Seasickness, spoiled food, and filthy toilets combined to create
an awful stench. During the day, steerage passengers crowded onto the main deck for
fresh air.
15.3 The Ellis Island Immigration Station [Ellis Island Immigration Station: the
port of entry for most European immigrants arriving in New York between 1892
and 1954], built in 1892 on a small piece of land in the harbor, was the port of entry for
most European immigrants arriving in New York. Steerage passengers passed through a
set of buildings staffed by officers of the Bureau of Immigration. This was a time of high
anxiety for the immigrants. An array of officials would examine them closely to make
sure they were fit to enter the country. Some of them would not pass inspection.
Medical Inspections at Ellis Island
Immigrants dreaded the eye examination because failure often meant being deported.
Doctors lifted the immigrant’s eyelids for inspection. Some used their fingers, while
others used tools such as a buttonhook. They looked for infection, especially the highly
contagious disease trachoma, which could lead to blindness. Outside the main building at
Ellis Island, officials attached an identification tag to each immigrant. The medical
inspection began after the immigrants entered the building. Public Health Service doctors
watched as people crossed through the baggage room and climbed the steep stairs to the
enormous Registry Room, or Great Hall. This brief observation period became known as
the "six-second exam." People who limped, wheezed, or otherwise showed signs of
disease or disability would be pulled aside for closer inspection.
In the Great Hall, the immigrants underwent a physical examination and an eye test.
During the brief physical, the doctor checked for a variety of health problems, using
chalk to mark the immigrant's clothing with a symbol for the suspected disease or other
problem. For example, an L stood for lameness, an H meant a possible heart condition,
and an X indicated a mental problem. Disabled individuals or those found to have
incurable illnesses would face deportation [deportation: a forced return of
immigrants to their home country], a forced return to their home country. The most
dreaded mark was an E for eye condition. The doctor would check for trachoma, a
contagious infection that could lead to blindness. Anyone with trachoma would certainly
be rejected. In fact, this disease accounted for the most deportations by far.
Legal Interviews in the Great Hall
Along with receiving a medical exam, immigrants
lined up for a legal interview. An inspector asked a
series of questions to verify that immigrants could
enter the country legally. Immigrants who passed
the medical and legal tests would be free to go.
Those who failed would be held for days, or even
weeks, until their cases were decided.
Immigrants with medical problems would be sent to
a detention area. The rest got in line and slowly
worked their way to the back of the Great Hall for the legal interview. One by one, they
stood before the primary inspector, who usually worked with an interpreter. The inspector
asked a list of 29 questions, starting with "What is your name?" It was once thought that
many names were shortened or respelled at Ellis Island, but actually such changes were
rare. Passenger lists, including the 29 questions and answers, were created at the port of
departure in Europe. Immigrants provided their name, age, sex, race, marital status,
occupation, destination, and other information. Steamship officials wrote the answers on
the passenger list. In most cases, Ellis Island inspectors merely asked the questions again
to verify that the answers matched those on the passenger list.
The trickiest question was, "Do you have work waiting for you in the United States?"
Those immigrants who wanted to show they were able to succeed in their new country
sometimes answered yes. However, the Foran Act, a law passed by Congress in 1885,
made it illegal for U.S. employers to import foreigners as contract laborers [contract
laborer: an immigrant who signed a contract in Europe to work for an American
employer, often to replace a striking worker]. The law's main purpose was to prevent
the hiring of new immigrants to replace striking workers. Any immigrant who admitted to
signing a contract to work for an employer in the United States could be detained.
About 20 percent of immigrants failed either the medical examination or the legal
interview. This does not mean they were denied entry. Those with treatable illnesses were
sent to a hospital on Ellis Island for therapy. There they might stay for days or weeks
until a doctor pronounced them fit. Other detained immigrants had to await a hearing in
front of a Board of Special Inquiry. These immigrants stayed in dormitories on the
second and third floors of the main building, sleeping in iron bunks that resembled those
in steerage. The board members reviewed the details of each immigrant's case and
listened to testimony from the detainee's friends and relatives, if any lived nearby. The
board voted to accept almost all of the immigrants who came before it. In the end, about
2 percent of all immigrants were deported. Most of the immigrants who passed through
Ellis Island spent a very short time undergoing medical and legal examination. Yet the
whole process, including the waiting time, lasted for several agonizing hours. It ended
with the legal interview. Immigrants who passed that final test were free to go. Relieved
that the long ordeal was over, they boarded a ferry bound for New York City and a new
life.
Beyond Ellis Island: Life in the Cities
Some new European immigrants quickly found their way to the farm country of the
Midwest. However, the majority of the jobs were in the cities, so most immigrants stayed
in New York or boarded trains bound for Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, or other industrial
centers. As a result, urban populations exploded. From 1870 to 1920, the proportion of
Americans who lived in cities jumped from about 25 percent to 50 percent.Newly arrived
urban immigrants tended to live in the least desirable districts, where housing was
cheapest. Such areas often contained the factories and shops that provided their
livelihoods. Amid the city's din and dirt, immigrants crowded into tenement buildings
and other run-down, slum housing. In 1914, an Italian immigrant described such an area
of Boston:
Here was a congestion the like of which I had never seen before. Within the narrow limits of one-half
square mile were crowded together thirty-five thousand people, living tier upon tier, huddled together until
the very heavens seemed to be shut out. These narrow alley-like streets of Old Boston were one mass of
litter. The air was laden with soot and dirt. Ill odors arose from every direction . . . A thousand wheels of
commercial activity whirled incessantly day and night, making noises which would rack the sturdiest of
nerves.—Constantine M. Panunzio, The Soul of an Immigrant, 1969
Immigrants generally settled among others from their home country. They felt
comfortable among people who spoke the same language, ate the same foods, and held
the same beliefs. As a result, different areas of the city often had distinctive ethnic
flavors. Jacob Riis, a writer and photographer, imagined a map of New York's ethnic
communities. "A map of the city," he wrote in 1890, "colored to designate nationalities,
would show more stripes than on the skin of a zebra, and more colors than any rainbow."
15.4 Immigrants typically came to the United States with little money and few
possessions. Because of their general poverty and lack of education, most were not
welcomed into American society. Without much support, they had to work hard to get
ahead. In time, some saved enough to move out of the slums and perhaps even buy a
home. A few opened small businesses, such as a grocery store or a tailor's shop. But
many remained stuck in dangerous, low-wage factory jobs that barely paid their bills. An
accident on the job or an economic downturn might leave them without work and
possibly homeless and hungry.
Immigrants Receive Aid from Several Sources
In the late 1800s, the government did not provide aid or assistance to unemployed
workers. They were expected to fend for themselves. But needy immigrants did have
several places to turn for help. The first sources of aid were usually relatives or friends,
who might provide housing and food.If necessary, the needy might seek assistance from
an immigrant aid society. These ethnic organizations started as neighborhood social
groups. They met mainly in churches and synagogues, groceries, and saloons—the
centers of immigrant community life. They might pass the hat to collect money for a
family in need. In time, local immigrant aid societies joined together to form regional and
national organizations, such as the Polish National Alliance and the Sons of Italy in
America.
During the 1890s, a type of aid organization called a settlement house [settlement
house: a community center that provided a variety of services to the poor, especially
to immigrants] arose in the ethnic neighborhoods of many large cities. A settlement
house was a community center that provided a variety of services to the poor, especially
to immigrants. It might offer daytime care for children, as well as classes, health clinics,
and recreational opportunities for the entire community.
Opponents of immigration claimed that the “garbage” of Europe was being dumped on
American shores. Political parties included anti-immigration statements in their
platforms. For example, in 1892 the Democratic Party said the country should not
become “the dumping ground for the known criminals and professional paupers of
Europe.” Immigrants might also turn to political bosses [political bosses: powerful
leaders who ran local politics in many cities, providing jobs and social services to
immigrants in exchange for political support] for help. These bosses were powerful
leaders who ran local politics in many cities. They were in a position to provide jobs and
social services to immigrants in exchange for the political support of immigrants who
could vote. These supporters often voted for the boss and his slate of candidates in local
elections.
The Assimilation of Immigrants
Many immigrants held on to their old customs and language as they gradually adapted to
American life. This was especially true for older immigrants living in ethnic
neighborhoods. The children of immigrants, however, typically found assimilation into
American society much easier than their parents did. Education was the main tool of
assimilation. Immigrant children in public schools studied American history and civics,
and they learned to speak English. Yearning to fit in, they more eagerly adopted
American customs. Some patriotic organizations pushed for the Americanization
[Americanization: the assimilation of immigrants into American society, a goal of
some patriotic groups who feared that increased immigration threatened American
society and values] of immigrants, fearing that increased immigration posed a threat to
American values and traditions. Through efforts such as the publishing of guides for new
citizens, they promoted loyalty to American values.
Some Americans Reject Immigrants
Many Americans disliked the recent immigrants, in part because of religious and cultural
differences. Most of the earlier immigrants were Protestants from northern Europe. Later
waves of immigrants came from southern and eastern Europe and were often Catholics or
Jews. Their customs seemed strange to Americans of northern European ancestry, who
often doubted that these more recent immigrants could be Americanized. Many people
also blamed them for the labor unrest that had spread across the country in the late 1800s.
They especially feared that foreign anarchists and socialists might undermine American
democracy. Dislike and fear provoked demands to limit immigration and its impact on
American life. This policy of favoring the interests of native-born Americans over those
of immigrants is called nativism [nativism: the policy of favoring the interests of
native-born Americans over those of immigrants]. Nativism had a long history in the
United States. Before the Civil War, nativists had opposed the immigration of Irish
Catholics. In the 1850s, they formed a secret political party known as the KnowNothings, because when asked a question about the group, members were told to answer,
"I don't know."
As the main source of immigration shifted to southern and eastern Europe in the late
1800s, nativism flared up again. Nativists were not only bothered by religious and
cultural differences, but also saw immigrants as an economic threat. Native workers
worried that immigrants were taking their jobs and lowering wages. Immigrants often
worked for less money and sometimes served as scabs, replacement workers during labor
disputes.In 1894, a group of nativists founded the Immigration Restriction League. This
organization wanted to limit immigration by requiring that all new arrivals take a literacy
test to prove they could read and write. In 1897, Congress passed such a bill, but the
president vetoed it. Twenty years later, however, another literacy bill became law.
Meanwhile, efforts to slow immigration continued. During the 1920s, Congress began
passing quota laws to restrict the flow of European immigrants into the United States.
15.5 Although immigration after the Civil War was mainly from Europe, many
immigrants also arrived each year from Asia. They made important contributions to the
country. They also provoked strong reactions from nativists.
Chinese Immigrants Seek Gold Mountain
You have read about the thousands of Chinese railroad workers who laid track through
the Sierra Nevada for the Central Pacific Railroad. Thousands more joined the swarms of
prospectors who scoured the West for gold. In fact, the Chinese referred to California, the
site of the first gold rush, as Gold Mountain.The vast majority of Chinese immigrants
were men. They streamed into California, mainly through the port of San Francisco. Most
expected to work hard and return home rich. However, they usually ended up staying in
the United States.
Besides finding employment in mining and railroad construction, Chinese immigrants
worked in agriculture. Some had first come to Hawaii as contract laborers to work on
sugar plantations. There they earned a reputation as reliable, steady workers. Farm
owners on the mainland saw the value of their labor and began bringing the Chinese to
California. The Chinese were willing to do the "stoop labor" in the fields that many white
laborers refused to do. By the early 1880s, most harvest workers in the state were
Chinese.Many businesses hired the Chinese because they were willing to work for less
money. This allowed owners to reduce production costs even further by paying white
workers less. As a result, friction developed between working-class whites and Chinese
immigrants.
The Exclusion Act: Shutting the Doors on the Chinese
During the 1870s, a depression and drought knocked the wind out of California's
economy. Seeking a scapegoat, many Californians blamed Chinese workers for their
economic woes. The Chinese made an easy target. They looked different from white
Americans, and their language, religion, and other cultural traits were also very different.
As a result, innocent Chinese became victims of mob violence, during which many were
driven out of their homes and even murdered. Anti-Chinese nativism had a strong racial
component. The Chinese were seen as an inferior people who could never be
Americanized. Economist Henry George reflected this racist point of view in
characterizing the Chinese as "utter heathens, treacherous, sensual, cowardly, cruel."
Nativists demanded that Chinese immigration be curtailed, or reduced. Their outcries led
to the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act [Chinese Exclusion Act: an 1882 law
prohibiting immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years and preventing Chinese
already in the country from becoming citizens; the first U.S. immigration restriction
based solely on nationality or race] in 1882. This law prohibited the immigration of
Chinese laborers, skilled or unskilled, for a period of 10 years. It also prevented Chinese
already in the country from becoming citizens. For the first time, the United States had
restricted immigration based solely on nationality or race.
The Chinese Exclusion Act still allowed a few Chinese to enter the country, including
merchants, diplomats, teachers, students, and relatives of existing citizens. But the act did
what it was supposed to do. Immigration from China fell from a high of nearly 40,000
people in 1882 to just 279 two years later.Starting in 1910, immigration officials
processed Asian immigrants at Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. Some newcomers
faced lengthy detention. Here a Chinese immigrant endures a legal interview.
Angel Island: The Ellis Island of the West
Although the Chinese Exclusion Act was highly effective, some Chinese managed to
evade the law by using forged documents and false names. In response, federal officials
developed tougher procedures for processing Asian immigrants. They also decided to
replace the old immigrant-processing center in San Francisco with a new, more secure
facility located on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. Completed in 1910, the Angel
Island Immigration Station [Angel Island Immigration Station: the port of entry for
most Asian immigrants arriving in San Francisco between 1910 and 1940] became
known as the "Ellis Island of the West." It was designed to enforce the exclusion act by
keeping new Chinese arrivals isolated from friends and relatives on the mainland and
preventing them from escaping. At Angel Island, immigrants underwent a thorough
physical exam. Then they faced an intense legal interview, more involved and detailed
than the Ellis Island version. Officials hoped to exclude Chinese who falsely claimed to
be related to American citizens.
Interviewers asked applicants specific questions about their home village, their family,
and the house they lived in. They also questioned witnesses. The process could take days.
Those who failed the interviews could enter an appeal, but additional evidence took time
to gather. Applicants were often detained for weeks, months, or even years. Chinese
detained at Angel Island stayed locked in wooden barracks. These living quarters were
crowded and unsanitary. Detainees felt miserable and frustrated to be stopped so close to
their goal. From their barracks, they could see across the water to the mainland. Some
carved poems onto the walls to express their feelings. One Chinese detainee wrote,
Imprisoned in the wooden building day after day,
My freedom withheld; how can I bear to talk about it?
—from Ronald Takaki, Strangers from a Different Shore, 1989
Many Chinese never made it to the mainland. About 10 percent were put on ships and
sent back to China after failing the medical exam or legal interview.
Other Asian Groups Immigrate to the United States
The Chinese Exclusion Act created a shortage of farm laborers. Large-scale farmers
looked to Japan and later to Korea and the Philippines for workers. These other Asian
immigrants had experiences similar to those of the Chinese. Many first emigrated to work
on Hawaiian sugar plantations. They came to the United States through Angel Island to
work in orchards, in vineyards, and on farms in California, Oregon, and Washington.
Some worked for railroads and other industries. A number of Japanese immigrants leased
farmland and had great success growing fruits and vegetables. They formed ethnic
neighborhoods that provided for their economic and social needs. Koreans had less
success. Only a small number moved from Hawaii to the mainland in the early 1900s,
and they led more isolated lives. Immigrants from the Philippines migrated up and down
the West Coast, taking part in fruit and vegetable harvests. In the winter, many of these
Filipinos worked in hotels and restaurants.
Despite their contributions, all Asian immigrants faced prejudice, hostility, and
discrimination. In 1906, anti-Asian feelings in San Francisco caused the city to segregate
Asian children in separate schools from whites. When Japan's government protested,
President Theodore Roosevelt got involved. Hoping to avoid offending East Asia's most
powerful nation, the president persuaded San Francisco's school board to repeal the
segregation order. In return, he got a pledge from Japan to discuss issues related to
immigration.
In 1907 and 1908, the American and Japanese governments carried out secret
negotiations through a series of notes. These notes became known as the Gentlemen's
Agreement. In the end, Japanese officials agreed not to allow laborers to emigrate to the
United States. They did, however, insist that wives, children, and parents of Japanese in
the United States be allowed to immigrate. Immigration has always been an important
part of American life. Immigrants helped to populate and settle the United States. They
have played a key role in shaping our history and culture. These newcomers arrived in the
United States in 1920, the last year of unrestricted immigration from Europe. In 1921,
Congress passed the first of a series of laws designed to reduce immigration into the
country. These laws used quotas to limit the total number of immigrants as well as the
number of people allowed to enter from any one country.
Since 1820, immigration to the United States has come in three great waves, or surges.
The first wave, from 1820 to around 1870, came mostly from northern and western
Europe. The second wave, from about 1880 to 1920, included people from all parts of
world, but especially southern and eastern Europe. A third great wave began in 1965 and
continues today. You can see these waves on the graph.
These ebbs and flows of immigration reflect many factors. Immigration policy, for
instance, has had a huge impact. In the early 1920s, laws were passed that severely
limited immigration from most parts of the world. They remained in effect for over 40
years. Major wars have also had a chilling effect on immigration. So have economic
downturns, such as the Great Depression of the 1930s.Changes in immigration policy in
1965 triggered the last great wave of immigration. By 2003, the number of foreign-born
people living in the United States rose to 33 million, nearly 12 percent of the population.
Like earlier immigrants, the most recent newcomers are raising questions about how we
define ourselves as a people and a nation.